The class type I scavenger receptor (SR-BI) is the high density lipoprotein (HDL) receptor that regulates HDL- cholesterol metabolism and is directly linked to the ability of HDL to be athero-protective. The long-term objective of our research is to understand the function of SR-BI in the delivery of cholesteryl ester (CE) from HDL to the liver for cholesterol disposal. New insight into how SR-BI mediates the efficiency of HDL-CE delivery is key to developing methods for prevention of cardiovascular disease. This proposal consists of three primary objectives that will evaluate how the structural organization of SR-BI at the plasma membrane and the proper alignment of SR-BI with HDL mediate enhanced cholesterol flux to the liver. Aim 1 will determine the physiological organization and relevance of the SR-BI oligomer in vivo. Goal 1 will use bimolecular fluorescence complementation coupled with fluorescence resonance energy transfer spectroscopy to confirm the presence of SR-BI oligomers in live cells and monitor changes in oligomer formation upon ligand engagement. In Goal 2, the physiological relevance of SR-BI oligomerization in reverse cholesterol transport will be assessed following adenoviral-mediated expression of oligomerization-defective mutant SR-BI receptors in SR-BI knock-out mice. Aim 2 is designed to examine the molecular determinants for productive complex formation (i.e. proper alignment) between HDL and SR-BI that promote selective uptake of HDL-CE. In Goal 1, a series of SR-BI/CD36 chimeras will be designed to identify regions within the extracellular domain of SR-BI that are crucial for HDL-CE selective uptake and vital for productive complex formation. In Goal 2, the combination of site-specific ligand-directed crosslinking and mass spectrometry will be used to map sites of interaction between SR-BI and HDL. Aim 3 will explore how the conformation of the extracellular domain of SR-BI impacts lipid transfer from HDL to the plasma membrane. Goal 1 will use tryptophan quenching to test the hypothesis that hydrophobic regions of SR-BI are required to interact with the plasma membrane and/or ligand to facilitate efficient lipid transfer and cholesterol flux. Goal 2 will determine the role of extracellular cysteine residues in SR-BI function and experiments are designed to identify intra- and intermolecular disulfide bonding patterns. Together, these studies will improve our understanding of how SR-BI mediates the efficiency of HDL-CE selective uptake and will shed new insights into cholesterol metabolism and protection against atherosclerosis.